Been looking at getting one of these for awhile. When I first saw this thing I could not believe how big it seemed. After getting it home and placing my C8 next to it, WOW. Makes my C8 seem like a toy. Need to collimate the big one but when I first saw the Ring in it there sure was a big difference in brightness. I....Like it!!

My thoughts exactly when I got my NS11. I was impressed with my old LX200 8" size up to that point then it seemed so small. I was also suprised that it was lighter than it looked thanks to the egronomic design of the fork mount. You'll be amazed at the difference when you point it at the summer globulars they will really sparke with new resolution.

I had a CPC-925 and it was a bit of work to carry it from the car to the tripod. I know have a C11 EdgeHD and it is mounted on my Astro-Physics 900GTO. The C11 tube is much easier to carry than the CPC-925 upper assembly. I could carry a C14 OTA easier than a CPC-11 assembly.

The CPC mounts are very comfortable for visual use after you get them set up. The GEM mounted OTAs are much lighter but are much better for imaging. I don't take my GEM into the field except for multinight star parties since the GEM setup is much more work than using our Obsession 20 inch or refractors on a Discmount.

The thing with the CPC 1100 is to find a bench about the same height as the tripod ... then you can lift it with a straight back & pretty much without changing the height when carrying between storage & observing tripod. The big "jug handle" under the left arm is ergonomically very good.

I've had issues with scopes a lot lighter than the 65 lbs of the CPC 1100 tube/fork combination ... lifting the tube/fork assy off the ground is a pig but you shouldn't have to do it often.

Other than the fact that it weighs a bit it is easier to setup than the C8 on the CG5-GTa since there are less parts to install. The tripod sets in its spot in the house that I found for it and the scope sits in its storage case. I take the tripod outside and get it leveled and go get the tube assy. Have to carry it with one hand for part of the trip to get through the hallways. After getting out on the deck then I can get it by both handholds for the stairs and for setting onto the tripod. After that just the power pack or batt. Then just find three bright objects and do the alignment. So for just getting out and observing this is a much quicker setup. If the clouds do what they have been doing all week which is go away after it gets dark at about 10:15 local I will get out and get it collimated and try some stuff.

I bet that c14 is really big. That is on my list to get after getting my own place in a couple of years and getting one of those converted storage shed observatories built. I am 57 and if I didn't work with heavy stuff all day long it would not be easy to handle the cpc11. Have got to get my place and get something built before it gets too hard to handle this stuff because I sure do love getting out and seeing all the great views.

I haven't been able to get into a store that sells nice scopes in so many years that I juse didn't have any idea what the size would be like and thought I would post this picture incase there were others like me out there. Really puts the little C8 in its place. For ap the C8 will still be my primary workhorse unless I get up the nerve to mount the 11 on the wedge, after finding some bolts to get the wedge on the tripod. More projects, oh boy.....

So hopefully I will get a chance to do either some DSLR or neximage work with the mount tonight after getting it collimated. I know I have seen some pretty nice images from this size instrument on here and hope I can get some close to how those looked. Thanks for all the kind words and I will post up when I can get something worthy.

I LOVE my C11, it is the perfect blend of everything and I have not come close to pushing the limits. I can go hyperstar, etc. if I ever get too much cash. It travels well, quick to setup and align, and not to big that I can't handle it myself. I feel grateful and blessed to have such a wonderful instrument to view the heavens!

Actually around here this time of year it is warm up times. I take them outside and they are much cooler so I try to get them outside an hour or two before I will be doing setup so they can already be close to temp prior to actually doing the setup. Even in winter though I always set them outside before I will be doing setup so that when I get around to setting them up I don't have to wait for them to get equailzed.

My dob has the cooling fan option which I have not had to use because of how I do mine. But if I was in a hurry I do have that option. If the weather holds for tomorrow I might get all three out there and do some comparisons. To this point the 10 inch dob has given me my best images using the early model of neximage, my avatar came from one of those sessions using the dob on my CG5 mount, that requires 44 pounds of counter weight and two barlows. Now one barlow should get the job done with the C11 and I just got a 3x barlow just in case.

I posted up a photo of M4 in the DSLR section and I think I will post up a comparison of the Ring nebula in the beginners section between the C8 and the C11. Put one on there of the Moon which I think was a really crisp image for a DSLR. Normally get much better shots of the Moon with the neximage but like the way this one turned out with the T3i.